Chapter 671: Old Acquaintances

Chapter 671: Truly Numerous Old Familiar Faces

Boom! Boom! Rumble!

As the clouds stirred in all directions, the dim sky welcomed the dawn, and gentle sunlight began to spill over the earth.

The ancient wilderness of Luan Gu Cang Yuan was bustling like never before.

From afar, the ground was blanketed with a dense mass of figures like a black carpet, while the sky was obscured by a swarm of shadowy forms like a dark canopy.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ye Chen remained seated cross-legged in the central void, his head down as he wiped the rust-covered Ba Long Dao, completely ignoring the gazes from all sides.

"Ling Zhen Shangren has arrived," someone shouted.

Hearing that name, Ye Chen, who was still cleaning the Ba Long Dao, looked up and glanced in a certain direction.

From a distance, he spotted Ling Zhen Shangren approaching through the sky, as aloof and superior as ever, acting like a senior. He merely gave a soft hum in response to the bows from those around him.

What is righteousness, and what is evil?

For some reason, when he saw Ling Zhen Shangren, that phrase echoed inexplicably in Ye Chen's mind.

In that moment, scenes from that day flashed before his eyes—it was this very Ling Zhen Shangren, with his hypocritical facade of righteousness, who had taught him how to distinguish between right and wrong.

"Ling Zhen, when I have some free time, I'll discuss the matter of righteousness and evil with you again." Suddenly, a flash of icy coldness gleamed in Ye Chen's eyes.

"Good heavens! People from Dan Cheng have arrived." Soon, cries of surprise came from one side, drawing everyone's attention to Dan Chen, Dan Yi, Xuan Nu, and Luo Xi as they slowly made their way through the air.

"Daoist friend Dan Chen, it's been a while—how have you been?" Many senior cultivators were already cupping their hands in greeting.

"Thank you all for your concern." Dan Chen smiled warmly, then shifted his gaze to Ye Chen.

Coincidentally, Ye Chen's eyes met his.

Their gazes locked, and while Ye Chen showed no reaction, Dan Chen's brows furrowed slightly.

"That's Qin Yu!" Nearby, Dan Yi was also looking at Ye Chen. Like them, Xuan Nu and Luo Xi were doing the same, but for some reason, upon seeing Ye Chen, they all felt an oddly strange sensation.

"People from Dong Yue Shangguan family have arrived too." Another loud call rang out, drawing all eyes to that direction once more.

There, three elders had slowly entered, each exuding a powerful aura, followed by Shangguan Han Yue and Shangguan Yu Er.

"Is that Qin Yu?" As soon as they stopped, Shangguan Yu Er eagerly looked toward the central void, curious to see the legendary hero who had won her sister's heart.

Just like Dan Chen and the others, when she saw Ye Chen, she experienced a brief moment of daze. Especially when their eyes met, an overwhelming sense of familiarity washed over her, impossible to shake off.

"Are those people from Bei Chu Haotian family?" Yet another exclamation arose.

Hearing that family name, Ye Chen couldn't help but turn his gaze. He spotted several figures slowly approaching through the sky, his eyes finally settling on Haotian Xuan Zhen, his expression growing complex.

Ah!

Seeing Haotian Xuan Zhen and his group, many couldn't help but think of someone else—Haotian Chen Ye, the saint of elixirs.

The atmosphere at the scene turned somewhat oppressive.

After Haotian Xuan Zhen entered, his piercing gaze fixed on Ling Zhen Shangren—the very man who had hypocritically killed his child.

Humph!

Sensing Haotian Xuan Zhen's icy stare, Ling Zhen Shangren's eyes also turned cold. The two faced off in the void, tensions so high it seemed they might clash at any moment, making the air thick with pressure.

Oh, wow!

Soon, the tense standoff was broken by a voice.

"Ling Zhen, I just got here and you're already showing off? What a massive presence you have!"

Before the words finished, a sleazy old man scratching his ear walked in, accompanied by a woman in flowing white robes. Upon closer inspection, it was none other than the old Zhuge man and Fu Ling.

Humph!

At the sight of the old Zhuge man, Ling Zhen Shangren snorted coldly again.

Tsk!

The old Zhuge man shrugged it off indifferently and turned his gaze to Ye Chen.

On the spot, he froze for a moment, then rubbed his eyes hard and looked again. His expression instantly became extraordinarily vivid.

"Miss me?" Ye Chen flashed a set of pearly white teeth.

"Damn." The old Zhuge man cursed outright.

His sudden howl startled everyone around, making many shudder and darken their faces. Are you out of your mind?

"Keep that heavenly eye of yours under wraps—don't spill it." Ye Chen hurriedly sent a mental message.

"You're something else, kid!" The old Zhuge man stared intently at Ye Chen. If not for his heavenly eye, he probably wouldn't have recognized him. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, how could he have known that the killing god Qin Yu was the elixir saint Ye Chen?

"Low-key, low-key." Ye Chen straightened his collar casually.

"Come on, make way, make way." Soon, shouts erupted as someone even more sleazy than the old Zhuge man squeezed in.

That old man was quite the oddity—skinny as a rail, with eyes so small they were almost slits, yet he had an enormous mouth. Most striking was his bald head, shining like a polished tile from afar.

This was none other than Niu Shisan, whom Ye Chen had met at the stone gambling event in Tian Long Ancient City—the very one who had gambled out a massive pile of crap back then.

What a unique look!

Seeing Niu Shisan, everyone at the scene couldn't help but remark with a sigh.

"The people from Pan Long Sea Domain's Niu family are really something!" As soon as Niu Shisan stopped, Taiyi Zhenren and Wu San Pao squeezed in, exchanging meaningful glances with Ye Chen in the central void.

Bang!

Just as the crowd quieted down a bit, another bang shook them.

At once, all eyes turned to the newcomer, their expressions full of surprise.

No wonder—they were stunned by the person's sheer size. Standing over three zhang tall, with a broad back and waist like a bear, his muscular body rippled like coiling dragons, full of terrifying explosive power.

This was Man Shan, whom Ye Chen had seen at the auction in Tian Long Ancient City, a colossal figure from Ba Shu in Xi Ling of Bei Chu.

"I say, everyone else is strutting around with such flair, but if we four show up like this, won't we get kidnapped?" In the crowd, Wei Wen Zhuo, who had just squeezed in, scanned the surroundings nervously.

"It's totally possible." Li Zhang coughed dryly. "I've heard the folk in Nan Chu are pretty fierce—they don't even release people after getting the ransom."

"We need to find a strong backer to latch onto." Chen Rong Yun stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Right away, the group shamelessly pushed from the northern void to the southern void, and finally squeezed their way over to Dan Chen and Dan Yi's side, standing there as if it were the most natural thing.

"Oh, wow." Dan Yi looked them up and down with a chuckle. "Traveling all this way—you guys are really something."

"We're mainly here to pay respects to you, elder." Chen Rong Yun and Wei Wen Zhuo directly grabbed Dan Yi's arms.

"Huh? Where's our Nu Yan?" Li Zhang scratched his head.

"There she is." Chen Rong Yun and Wei Wen Zhuo pointed in unison toward a direction.

Hearing this, Li Zhang glanced over and saw Xu Nuo Yan had already wormed her way to a scholar's side—or more precisely, to Ji Ning Shuang, who was disguised as a man.

"Got it instantly." Li Zhang said with a meaningful smile.

"The Shi Xue Dian has sent people too." Soon, another cry of surprise rang out.

At the mention of Shi Xue Dian, Ye Chen looked over.

His eyes narrowed slightly, as he recognized the three—they were the ones who had chased Chu Ling Er in the demon beast forest that night.

Next, more people arrived one after another. Ye Chen spotted Dugu Ao and Bi You, Ji Ning Shuang disguised as a man, people from the Yin Yang Jia hidden in the crowd, and those from the Yuan Jia.

As he looked around, his eyes caught a young man in plain robes in a corner of the crowd.

From afar, the youth seemed unremarkable, like an ordinary scholar rather than a cultivator. His eyes were like serene ancient stars, and his black hair flowed without wind.

Yet, this young man made Ye Chen's eyes narrow into slits, for he was extraordinarily powerful. Even from a distance, Ye Chen could sense the dormant, immense power within him—a force so strong it filled him with deep dread.

While Ye Chen watched the youth, the youth was watching him too, and he smiled warmly like a spring breeze.

Out of politeness, Ye Chen smiled back before withdrawing his gaze.

Following that, he noticed many others with extremely concealed auras, each powerful enough to make him wary.

"This Da Chu is truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers!" Ye Chen murmured to himself.

Boom!

No sooner had he spoken than a rumble echoed from one side of the void.

Then, surging clouds rolled in as the people from Qingyun Zong arrived, led by Qingyun Laozu, followed by dozens of figures, each with a formidable presence—the weakest being at the ninth level of Kong Ming realm.

Boom!

Quickly, another rumble came from the other side of the void.

In an instant, dozens of figures appeared before everyone—it was the experts from Zhengyang Zong, headed by Zhengyang Laozu, with the rest exuding sky-shattering auras.

As they spoke, the strong from both sects had already charged in, their formation so grand that even quasi-tian realm cultivators had to make way.

"Qin Yu, now that you're here today, don't think about leaving." An elder from Qingyun Zong roared angrily, ready to strike.

Ye Chen remained unmoved, knowing Qingyun Laozu wouldn't let him act.

Sure enough, Qingyun Laozu blocked the elder.

On the Zhengyang Zong side, it was the same. Though their killing intent toward Ye Chen was boundless, they held back and only stared at him coldly.

As Ye Chen had anticipated, neither sect was foolish enough to make a move now.

Boom! Rumble!

Soon, more rumbles echoed from another part of the void, like thunderclaps.

"Qin Yu, today I will end you."

Immediately, a chilling shout reverberated through the nine heavens as the experts from Hengyue Zong arrived, their formation even more massive than those of Qingyun and Zhengyang sects, each with an overwhelming presence that made the void tremble violently.

Before the words faded, Yin Zhiping, radiating immense aura, appeared like a divine ray in the skies above Luan Gu Cang Yuan.